Local Clergy Criticize Robertson's Remarks

Area religious leaders bristle at comments suggesting that Venezuela's president be assassinated.

Peninsula clergy distanced themselves Tuesday from remarks by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, who suggested the United States assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Robertson made his remarks on Monday's "The 700 Club," the television program produced by his Christian Broadcasting Network.

Earlier in the broadcast, a news segment by CBN reporter Dale Hurd had highlighted Chavez's anti-U.S. stance and his alliance with Cuban President Fidel Castro.

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think it's time we exercise that ability," Robertson said of Chavez.

The Rev. Jeff Cannon of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Hampton called Robertson's remarks "outrageous" and "ridiculous."

"I generally like Pat Robertson," Cannon said. "I hope that he was saying it in a different context."

Other clergy reacted in a similar fashion. "I don't think he should have said that," said the Rev. Ken McLemore, associate pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton. "From a Christian standpoint, I don't think that it's the church's job to recommend the assassination of foreign leaders, and I totally disagree with his statements."

The Rev. Ken Wood, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Newport News, pointed out that "theologically, there are problems anytime someone advocates killing someone else. There is a problem in Venezuela, but that's not the answer."

The Rev. Felix J. Nieves of Iglesia Christiana Camino a La Luz in Hampton said pastors shouldn't encourage assassinations. "God is the one who gives life, so God would be the only one to take it away," he said.

CBN has been flooded with calls from television news networks and others about Robertson's remarks, said Angell Watts, manager of CBN's public relations. She urged people to go to the CBN Web site, www.cbn.com, and stream Monday's program to understand Robertson's statements in context.

"Dr. Robertson was reacting to the story about Chavez that appeared earlier in the broadcast," she said. "He was talking in the context of us already being in the midst of a war going on."

Ron Johnson, senior pastor of Bethel Temple Assembly of God in Hampton, said there needed to be more dialogue in the U.S. media about the growing threat that Chavez represented and the potential destabilization of relationships with other South American countries.

"Obviously, it was not the wisest remark he's ever made," Johnson said of Robertson.

Robertson's daily program frequently tackles political topics. Tuesday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "We do not share his view, and his comments are inappropriate."

The United States is the top buyer of Venezuelan oil, The Associated Press reported. *